This is what I saw at Target and damned near bought.

Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 Digital Compass

This morning I read the four reviews listed. One star each. Total crap, according to the disappointed reviewers.

Yeesh. Now I have to find out if someone makes a GOOD digital compass.

-- Craig

Hasn't Eddie Bauer's quality dropped drastically? They seem to be "branded" goods with no name brand quality.

Coghlan's makes a digital compass. I think its called the "Outdoorsman Digital Compass"

Is a digital compass better in any way? Or is it fixing a problem that doesn't exist?

One of my scouts showed up with one of those exact models a few weekends ago when we were running them through an compass course at camp. I was a little exasperated - it was the 2nd unsuitable compass he had shown up with - but I showed him how to use it. Orienting the map carefully in order to then determine the bearing was the only method available to him, so I made sure he pre-calculated all of his bearings while at the start point. (Right now the local declination is close enough to zero)

Imagine my surprise when he showed up first at the finish line about 2 hours later - with all of the correct stations for his course (they all had different courses and stations)!

He's quite an intelligent young man and pays close attention. When I asked him about the compass, he grimaced and said that it was very difficult to use and that he only used it to make sure he was somewhat oriented and then read the map carefully to figure out where his next station was. Three days later he showed up at the regular meeting with a decent conventional compass.

I did not check the accuracy of the digital compass and frankly the whole gadget totally put me off - they styled the case to resemble someones idea of what a snazzy compass ought to look like (form over function). Without a doubt, most of how I am accustomed to using a compass either cannot be done with this gadget or would have to be done very differently. A good orienteering compass is so simple to use that I just don't "get it" - the "why" of this kind of digital compass escapes me.

I have never used a digital compass (a couple of my vehicles have them integrated into the onboard displays, but I don't need or use them), so I am interested to hear from folks who own and use high quality digitals. Surely there must be some good reason(s) for their existence <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Anyone?

Here is one from Silva... I have not used it, so I can't vouch for its performance, but it's probably better than that Eddie Bauer compass.
http://www.thecompassstore.com/cobalt.html

Another store that has quite a selection of compasses is:
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/

Thank you. I'm liking the looks of this one.

-- Craig

I looked around for more information on the Silva compass. One page I found mentioned it was "the first and only digital base plate compass that will take a bearing from a topographical map". Well, I couldn't visualize how do that, so I poked around on the Silva site. Found a PDF of the instructions that come with it. For "taking a bearing from a map", the first instruction is "Align the N arrow on the map with North".

Sheesh. I gotta turn the map?

Possibly. You may never know until you've tried to take a bearing yourself or until you've read a review done by someone you trust.

-- Craig

"Bearing: Important- Orient the map so that its N icon points North. "

Read it for yourself here. (PDF )

Since the compass needs to be level to get an accurate reading, that means you need to keep the map level too. Seems pretty tough to do in a canoe or on a hike, much harder than with a standard Silva, where you just rotate the Bezel.

I agree - I don't see anything that a digital compass could do that an analog one can't do better. Maybe it has some memories to store phone numbers or includes a handy tip calculator, sends email and SMS text messages, or includes a convenient foreign language phrasebook (how to say "please don't ritualistically sacrifice me to your gods" in 170 languages) - all I can think of are useless bells and whistles that could be taken care of by something else. Carry a PDA if you want that stuff; use the compass for navigating.

I'll stick with my analog compass.

Digital screens can be hard to see in bright sunlight, and some can only be seen for directly on, not a glancing angle.

Digital screens are impossible to read in the dark, unless it includes a backlight, which runs down the batteries. Analog compass needles and dials can be covered in phosphorescent materials (for temporary glow after illumination), or better yet, with radioactive paint (for permanent glow, well 20 years' worth, anyway).

Speaking of batteries, if they're dead, so are you if you were depending on that compass to get you home.

I also find it much easier to use a plain old compass needle in terms of finding bearings or plopping down on a map - the only way a digital compass could do that would be to have the screen emulate an analog display, but what's the point?

I'd also question the accuracy and reliability of any digital readout. If an analog needle "sticks" you can see it by rotating the compass or jiggling it - where's the BS detector in a digital compass? And if the machinery inside gets screwed up, who knows what kind of garbage you'd get out of it!

Ok, I just thought of one useful feature a digital compass could include - it can autmatically correct for magnetic declination. But then you'd have to input the correct declination, and remember whether or not you've applied the correction. Besides, anyone who knows what magnetic declination is, probably already knows how to read a compass and correct for it manually.

I guess people must be able to do it, though.

-- Craig

Whilst not a general defence of digital compass, there is one situation where I have found a digital compass to be extremely useful - sailing. The compass in question had the ability to store several bearings and recall them later which makes taking three bearings for a position fix a snip, especially on a pitching sailboat.

The only digital compass I have is the one in my Tissot T-touch watch. I have found it to be as accurate as any button compass, but all it is really good for is getting a general direction. I still keep my Suunto compass in my bag, as I haven't found anything as accurate yet, especially not as foolproof, simple, and inexpensive.

I inherited a digital compass that had many cool features. I think it would even wash the dishes if I pushed the right buttons. The only advantage that I could see over my Suunto MC-1G is that it was big enough to bash a mugger over the head.
I plan on having my compass work during the worst of times not just the best times and would not trust my life to a battery powered compass. Even with the most modern navigation systems the aircraft I have been around all seem to have a very simple, durable and dependable compass as a backup to whatever wonder of the week navigation system they are using.

I'd say the most practical application of a digital compass (really a misnomer, electronic compass with digital display would be more appropos) is when it included as part of a GPS system. Otherwise, why have yet another survival tool that must use batteries, and will eventually fail, when something completely passive and much more rugged will do just as well or better? As for memory, I would have higher confidence in a piece of paper and pen than another electronic memory device that will also fail eventually, maybe at the worst possible time.

This is my caveat: Do not rely too heavily on electronic devices, they require something you cannot always provide, a power source. Whenever possible, stick with what you know works and use the electronics as a convenience and not a necessity. Going into a cave with nothing but battery powered light sources will make you a believer.